Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Sam C Gittins.

An excellent week for the Virtual Console and it's only the second week of the Hanabi Festival but satisfaction is guaranteed for many due the release of a title from a certain popular Vampire-slaying series. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Castlevania : Rondo of Blood
• Milon's Secret Castle

Points: 900
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: 1993
System: Turbografx CD

Castlevania is a series that has garnered a huge amount of popularity over the years spanning many incarnations over a wide range of consoles but by far the most sought after game in the series has to be Rondo of Blood which has been known to reach obscene prices on a certain online auction site in any of its formats. Now you can own the game in its ultimate format for just a fraction of the price thanks to the Virtual Console.

Evil is afoot as Dracula is resurrected by the Dark Priest Shaft - ... - threatening the great Vampire hunter bloodline; it's up to you Richter Belmont to defeat Dracula and get back your love interest Annette along with her sister Maria Reynard plus two other 'maidens' named Tera - a nun - and Iris - daughter to the local doctor - who were all kidnapped from your village. All in a days work right?

If you're a fan of the earlier titles in the series then this game is a real treat as it sticks closely to its roots as mostly you'll be taking on platforming sections as you take out enemies with a crack of your whip. The old rule of 'if it's not broken then don't fix it' is applied here as special items make a triumphant return and can be used by pressing up on the d-pad.

Generally the controls are spot-on and emulate the first games perfectly making for blissful exploration of the many beautifully designed - not to mention graphically stunning - levels to your hearts content. Branching pathways can also be found along the way which promotes replay alue as no two plays of this title will be the same being that there are a fair few ways that you can go sometimes leading you to bosses that you might not have fought before not to mention a few nifty shortcuts.

As aforementioned, visually this game is very well detailed indeed thanks to the CD format it was originally released on; areas have plenty of atmosphere because of this coupled with the absolutely sumptuous score which really is a treat for the ears featuring many beautiful and original compositions plus some much loved classics such as 'Vampire Killer' which are brought alive with such clarity that still shines through even today and is testament to the amount of love and care that clearly went into this excellent title.

Fans of the series should already be well aware that this is a particularly special game indeed an will no doubt be getting this and enjoying it for many moons to come but even if you're new to the Castlevania series then why not start here with one of the most highly regarded titles available? Because quite honestly playing it is an experience that will delight fans of the platform genre not to mention anyone who enjoys games from the golden age that were made properly; the amount of work put into this ensures that Castlevania : Rondo of Blood is a labour of love that doesn't disappoint and never fails to deliver satisfying gameplay.

Verdict : A carefully crafted Castlevania title that's worthy of its high reputation.

Points: 500
Publisher: Hudson
Developer: Hudson
Released: 1986
System: NES

For some reason this game garnered a cult following since its release despite in retrospect not actually being that good at all for its time of release. The game was seemingly average back then and by todays standard has not aged well at all for a game that's supposedly so popular.

You play the role of Milon who is on a quest to clear a castle full of enemies in order to save a princess - score one point for originality - you have the ability to blow bubbles but even though this may sound fantastical, it really isn't due to the frustrating nature of how they control.

Bubbles shoot slightly upward by default making aiming at enemies rather frustrating, so much so that the only real reason this game should be remembered is because of its criminal difficulty.

It hurts to even write about this game because it really is that unbalanced that it often feels unplayable and when there are plenty of better games out there then why would you bother with something so mundane? Surprisingly in contrast the sequel to this game DoReMi Fantasy : Milon's DokiDoki Adventure is an exceptional title so I would really recommend getting that instead.

Verdict : Pathetically poor platform title.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
[email protected]

Looking for reviews on other Virtual Console games? Or a full list of games available on the system? Check out our Virtual Console Index Page.